{"id":97531,"date":"2026-08-05T01:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/97531\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T01:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:16:19","slug":"hsbc-h1-profit-rises-23-to-19-5bn-fincen-imposes-record-125mn-penalty-on-ubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/97531\/","title":{"rendered":"HSBC H1 profit rises 23% to $19.5bn; FinCen imposes record $125mn penalty on UBS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s need-to-know storiesHSBC first-half profit rises 23% to $19.5bn<\/p>\n

HSBC has reported a 23 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profit to $19.5bn compared with the same period last year, beating analyst forecasts, thanks to stronger lending and wealth management activity lifting revenue.<\/p>\n

Revenue increased 11 per cent to $37.7bn, while income from the lender\u2019s wealth management business grew 18 per cent as customer activity strengthened in Asia.<\/p>\n

HSBC also announced a share buyback of up to $1bn and a second interim dividend of 10 cents per share, although the buyback was below market expectations of around $2.2bn, according to Citigroup analysts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking during HSBC\u2019s results presentation, chief executive Georges Elhedery said the group had attracted 640,000 new personal banking customers in Hong Kong during the first half of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHong Kong remains front and centre in the growth of our wealth business in Asia,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

HSBC said overall customer lending increased by $34bn from the end of 2025, while corporate and institutional banking generated about a third of its first-half profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lender also raised its 2026 guidance for banking net interest income to at least $46bn, compared with around $46bn previously.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, expected credit losses rose by $400mn to $2.4bn, partly because of charges linked to wholesale exposures and Hong Kong commercial property, while operating expenses increased 2 per cent to $17.4bn as technology spending and inflation pushed costs higher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HSBC\u2019s shares were down 1.6 per cent in morning trading in London, having reached a record high earlier in the session.<\/p>\n

FinCen imposes record $125mn penalty on UBS<\/p>\n

The US Treasury\u2019s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has fined UBS $125mn over repeated failures in its anti-money laundering controls, representing the largest Bank Secrecy Act penalty ever imposed on a broker-dealer.<\/p>\n

In a release<\/a> on Monday, FinCen said UBS Financial Services, the Swiss bank\u2019s US broker-dealer unit, admitted to wilfully failing to maintain an adequate AML programme and to failing to file suspicious activity reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The regulator found that the business failed to carry out sufficient checks on high-risk clients linked to Russia and Latin America. In addition, the broker-dealer did not properly assess some customers\u2019 sources of wealth or respond to reports alleging connections to corruption, fraud and money laundering, even after another UBS affiliate raised concerns.<\/p>\n

FinCen said these failings contributed to hundreds of suspicious transactions not being reported promptly. The broker-dealer also failed to monitor more than 50,000 foreign currency transfers worth more than $10bn.<\/p>\n

The breaches occurred between January 2019 and June 2023, after UBSFS had been fined $14.5mn for similar failings in 2018.<\/p>\n

Under the settlement, UBSFS must review previously undetected transactions and undergo an independent assessment of its AML programme. FinCen said it may waive up to $15mn of the penalty if UBSFS completes the review and implements its recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s historic action against UBSFS should send a clear message that recidivist financial institutions will face severe repercussions,\u201d said FinCen director Andrea Gacki.<\/p>\n

Yacht broker sues Revolut\u2019s Storonsky<\/p>\n

Revolut founder Nik Storonsky is being sued for \u20ac17.5mn by luxury yacht broker Cecil Wright & Partners over the purchase of a \u20ac350mn superyacht, the FT reported.<\/p>\n

The broker has filed a claim in London\u2019s High Court alleging that Storonsky went \u201cbehind its back\u201d to avoid paying commission. <\/p>\n

Cecil Wright claims it found the yacht for Storonsky and helped bring about the sale, which entitled it to a 5 per cent fee, even though Storonsky ultimately bought the vessel directly from Canadian businessman Patrick Dovigi.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Storonsky\u2019s family office told the FT that the claim was \u201cwithout merit and will be defended\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rare for brokers to find themselves in this situation and it\u2019s the first time I have done so, but I feel strongly about it, hence am taking action,\u201d founder Chris Cecil-Wright told the newspaper.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 102-metre yacht, built by German shipyard L\u00fcrssen, includes a glass-bottomed infinity pool, a beach club and a gym with a cold therapy chamber.<\/p>\n

Rabobank announces \u20ac2bn tech investment<\/p>\n

Rabobank plans to invest up to \u20ac2bn in data, technology and AI over the next three years as banks increase spending on digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The Dutch lender said the investment would strengthen its data and IT systems, improve customer experience and expand its use of AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI, data and other new technologies will further transform the way we work,\u201d said chief executive Stefaan Decraene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rabobank reported a first-half net profit of \u20ac2.69bn on Tuesday, broadly unchanged from a year earlier. Income growth was offset by impairment charges rising to \u20ac562mn from \u20ac136mn, mainly because of several large provisions in its wholesale business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s need-to-know storiesHSBC first-half profit rises 23% to $19.5bn HSBC has reported a 23 per cent rise in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20667],"tags":[9881,4593],"class_list":["post-97531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hsbc","tag-hsbc","tag-need-to-know"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117040263079912775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}